After a long-awaited return to the ice following the pandemic, the Uof L Pronghorn Ringette Team travelled to Ottawa to compete in the University Ringette Challenge Cup, the national championship for post-secondary Ringette. The Pronghorns joined 13 other University teams, hosted by Carleton University, from Dec 26 – Dec 31. The Pronghorns and the Calgary Dinos were the two teams representing the western provinces, and for the Pronghorns, they were ready to pickup where the program left off and bring home another year of hardware.

The 14 teams were split into three pools for the initial round robin games and the Pronghorns were slotted in Pool 3 against Brock, Laurentian and Ottawa. The 'Horns opened the championship with a hard fought battle against the Brock Badgers, but the Pronghorns stood fast and won 2-1.  Mikayla Miller and Kennedy Poole shared the scoring while Carly Crone was outstanding in net.  It was a great start for the Pronghorns and their confidence began to grow, highlighted by an even stronger 10-3 win over Laurentian Voyaguers, with the points being spread widely across the team with singles from Kadie Istace, Hailee Parsons, Emily Miller, Francesca Teskey. Kennedy Poole added two goals and Keely Poole scored an impressive 4 goals to pace the Pronghorns.  Mikaela Claypool made some outstanding saves in net to back the win.
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The next game was equally hard fought and despite two goals from Francesca Teskey, and singles from Parsons, Kennedy Lanigan and Keely Poole, the 'Horns drew even with 5 mins to go; however, Ottawa prevailed and scored the winner in the dying minutes of the game to make the final 6-5.  Mikaela Claypool made 26 saves in the loss.

Because Pool 3 only had 4 (not 5 teams) there was a chance for the Pronghorns to redeem their loss by playing Ottawa again for the final 1^st and 2^nd place in the pool.  They were victorious and made no mistake in the second game, winning 2-1 and putting in a complete effort. Scoring for the Horns Kennedy Poole and Tesky; Carly Crone faced 28 shots on net.



The 'Horns now had to reset, and ready for the second round robin and the team ventured out on a Ghost Tour of the Ottawa Jail – they braved a cold night and enjoyed the macabre stories of the jail, the gallows and the less than salubrious accommodations.

The break for the athletes allowed the team to reset and return to the ice with a win over McMaster (10-2), where the scoring was shared by Kennedy Poole, Ali Fournier, Emily Miller, Alex Reeve, Lanigan, and Parson while Makenna Summerfeldt and Keely Poole added two each.

Dalhousie followed, and with with goals from Tesky, Erica Creaghan, Fournier and doubles from Istace and Keely Poole, the 'Horns beat the Tigers 8-1. Next up was the Laurier Golden Hawks, and with a hat trick from Tesky and singles from Istace, Parson, and Kennedy Poole, the 'Horns won 6-2. Claypool stopped 29 shots on net in the win.

The Pronghorns next met their rival University of Calgary Dinos, in a battle for Alberta and from the start were on their back foot.  The Dinos played well and secured a convincing win 5-0 over the Pronghorns. Sadly for Lethbridge, the points carried forward from the loss to Ottawa in the 1st round and the loss to Calgary in the 2^nd, eliminating them from playing in the Gold medal game. The 'Horns were placed 4^th in the 2^nd round and were in the Bronze medal game – unfortunately this would be our second double header and we would meet the Dinos again. 

The rematch between the Pronghorns & Dinos ended up with a completely different feel than the round robin match, which resulted in the 'Horns dominating the Dinos for the full 40 minutes and winning by a margin of 5-1. And with the win, the Pronghorns brought home the Bronze Medal, finishing 3^rd in the country over an intense 5 days of Ringette.

Special mention to the coaches - Sue Stevenson and Richard Beswitherick and the Manager Tammy Summerfeldt, who dedicated their Christmas break to the team and the army of parents who administered, cheered and fed the athletes throughout the week.





All future games for your Pronghorns will be streamed live on www.ringette.live.